SAGINAW — Of all the reasons behind the Saginaw’s six-game win streak, one sticks out above the rest to Saginaw Spirit General Manager and coach Todd Watson.

“It’s because of the defensemen,” Watson said after Saginaw’s 4-1 win over the Kitchener Rangers in front of 3,757 Saturday night at The Dow Event Center. “It’s because of a lot of things, but they’re the number one.”

With the win, the first-place Spirit maintained their healthy 10-point cushion in the Western Conference standings heading into a Monday afternoon game in Plymouth.

In the three games since the trade deadline, which shook up the Spirit defense with the acquisition of Dalton Prout and Brandon Archibald, Saginaw has given up an average of fewer than 25 shots per game.

In a matchup between the two best defensive teams in the Western Conference, the Spirit gave up one goal or fewer for the sixth time this year.

The man behind the Spirit defense, goaltender Mavric Parks made 19 saves after a restful night. While the Spirit traveled to Sault Ste. Marie — and came away with a 4-3 win — Parks stayed in Saginaw while backup Tadeas Galansky started.

When the Spirit bus rolled into Saginaw at 3 a.m., Parks was fast asleep.

“I was pretty well rested,” Parks said.

The game marked a reunion for the 20-year-old Parks, who has been traded by Kitchener twice, once to Kingston during the 2007-08 season and again to Barrie at last year’s trade deadline.

“I love playing against them,” Parks said. “I played with them two years. Obviously every time I play them I want to show them why they drafted me.”

After a Jordan Szwarz redirection got the Spirit on the board early, both offenses stayed dormant for more than 40 minutes.

Forward Ivan Telegin picked up a rebound and scored on a backhand to give Saginaw sfome insurance. After Kitchener tied the game on a redirection in front, Vincent Trocheck took a short pass from Brandon Saad and beat Maxwell stick side. Josh Shalla scored an empty-netter to seal the game.

“I thought we played a decent game,” Watson said.

A lineup shakeup that sent forward Garret Ross to the first line, John McFarland to the second and Anthony Camara to the third, helped the Spirit generate some added offense.

But more than anything, a lockdown defensive unit that held the opponent to 25 shots or fewer for the third straight game helped Saginaw to a sixth straight win.

“It’s more like at the beginning of the year,” Parks said. “We had a couple of injuries and our defense was hurting. I’d have games where I was facing 40 or 50 shots on a regular basis. It was definitely nice having those guys back there.”

Noteworthy

• Monday’s game in Plymouth will be broadcast on WSGW-FM 790 starting at 1:45 p.m. The weekly Spirit radio show will not be take place.